Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Mark Buehrle reacts as he works against Toronto Blue Jays during the second inning of MLB baseball game action in Toronto on Friday, May 27, 2011. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

Blue Jays battle past White Sox, Buehrle

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Mark Buehrle reacts as he works against Toronto Blue Jays during the second inning of MLB baseball game action in Toronto on Friday, May 27, 2011. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)
Chris Young

TORONTO — Mark Buehrle didn’t give the Blue Jays much, but it
was enough to give Toronto a rare win against the White Sox
ace.

Yunel Escobar doubled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh
inning and Toronto beat Chicago 4-2 on Friday night.

“I got in a lot of jams tonight, pitched out of some but not
enough of them,’’ Buehrle said.

The left-hander came in 5-2 with a 1.78 ERA in his previous
eight starts against Toronto, but couldn’t extend his run of
success against the Blue Jays.

“Early on I kind of thought they were sitting on my changeup,’’
Buehrle said. “First couple of innings I felt like I was making
some good pitches and they were putting the ball in play. It seemed
like they were just waiting for it.’’

Right-hander Casey Janssen (2-0) pitched one inning of relief
for the win as Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak.

“We needed this one, for sure,’’ Blue Jays manager John Farrell
said.

Shawn Camp got one out and Jon Rauch finished in the ninth for
his sixth save in eight opportunities.

Jose Molina opened the seventh with a single but was erased at
second on Jayson Nix’s fielder’s choice grounder, with Nix beating
out the double play relay. Escobar followed with a double to right,
with outfielders Alex Rios and Carlos Quentin colliding on the
play, allowing Nix to score standing up.

“That happens,’’ White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of the
outfield collision. “There’s nothing you can do about that play.
They’re both attacking the ball at the same time.’’

The White Sox left 10 men on base and finished 1 for 8 with
runners in scoring position, while Toronto stranded nine and went 2
for 11 with men in scoring position.

“Kind of a weird game,’’ Guillen said. “The same for both teams,
the offense was very bad with people on base.’’

Buehrle (4-4) had won two straight starts and three of four
overall, but lost for the first time since April 27 at New York. He
allowed three runs and nine hits in seven innings. One of his two
walks was intentional, and he struck out three.

The Blue Jays jumped on Buehrle with a run in the first. Escobar
hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a one-out hit by Jose
Bautista and scored on Juan Rivera’s double to left.

Chicago tied it in the third when Juan Pierre tripled, extending
his hitting streak to 12 games, then scored on a sacrifice fly by
Alexei Ramirez.

Toronto’s Aaron Hill singled to lead off the fourth and scored
on a triple by Rajai Davis, but Davis was later caught in a rundown
between third and home.

The White Sox tied it again in the fifth when right-hander Kyle
Drabek issued a bases-loaded walk to Carlos Quentin. Chicago left
the bases loaded when Paul Konerko followed by grounding into a
fielder’s choice.

Toronto added an insurance run in the eighth against
right-hander Tony Pena, with Molina’s single to right scoring J.P.
Arencibia.

White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham left in the third inning
after he was hit in the face by Rios’ throw from the outfield. The
ball bounced over Beckham’s glove and hit him below the left eye.
Beckham’s eye was swollen but he did not suffer any vision damage.
White Sox trainer Herm Schneider accompanied Beckham to a local
hospital for X-rays.

“It looked like he fought (Manny) Pacquiao,’’ Guillen said. “He
was lucky. I don’t want to say it hit him in the right spot, but it
could have been worse.’’

Dropped from fifth to seventh in the order, struggling White Sox
slugger Adam Dunn walked in all four plate appearances. Dunn went 0
for 4 with four strikeouts on Thursday.

“It seemed like he was more patient at the plate, not trying to
rush,’’ Guillen said. “Hopefully this will be a good start.’’

With Quentin scheduled to get the day off Saturday, Guillen said
he’d bump Dunn up to third in the order.

According to Elias, Dunn is the first player since Dick Allen in
1968 to go 0 for 4 with four strikeouts in one game, then walk in
all four plate appearances the next day.

Drabek, who has won just one of his past six starts, didn’t
figure in the decision. The rookie allowed two runs and three hits
in 6 2-3 innings. He walked five and struck out four. His 121
pitches were a career high.

Subscribe to Breaking News

* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.

Watch this discussion.Stop watching this discussion.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.

What comes to mind when you think of Christmas? The presents, snow, or Santa Claus? For us, it's ugly Christmas sweaters! Submit a photo of your own ugly Christmas sweater for your chance to be featured on Pantagraph.com!